Team Mana, A RWBY Fan Fiction
by Boninja88
Summary: A team at Beacon Academy that doesn't get along goes on a team building exercise. OC characters
Team Mana

Mana, a supernatural power concentrated in objects. It's generally thought to be blue. It's also an abbreviation for my team name. Which is comprised of Moss, Aka, Noir and me, Abzu. We are a team at Beacon academy in Vale. We started the semester as a laughing stock that hated each other. Nobody thought we would become anything. Not even the teachers believed in us. That changed the day of our team building exercise. Let me start from the beginning.

Chapter 1

It was lunch time. We were about 3 weeks into our first school year. So we were pretty much settled. Moss and I were sitting together. Aka was at another table across from us with his older brother Haiiro's team, Team HLTH (pronounced health), trying to fit in with them. I have no idea why. The team, especially his brother, doesn't even pretend to like him. They pick on him relentlessly. I can't help but agree sometimes. Although I'm not surprised Aka doesn't hang out with his own team.

Aka was shy but he wanted to fit in. Unfortunately, being a part of team MANA doesn't make you popular. I couldn't help but notice how similar he looks to his brother. Same slanted eyes. Same round, flat face. Same buzz cut. Aka's hair was red and Haiiro's was Grey.. Except Aka looked so small compared to his brother. He probably felt small too.

Moss was an alright person in my opinion. He had black skin, a small green afro and big smile. He never lost enthusiasm. Despite maybe knowing he's a terrible leader. He couldn't even get his whole team to sit together for lunch. Aka hated Moss for this and the fact Moss's weapon was a sniper rifle. Aka considered snipers cowards. It didn't help that Moss's semblance was camouflage. Becoming entirely invisible provided he stayed still.

Noir could've been anywhere. He always ditched. He's tough and probably smart enough to succeed in class. Instead he brings down our team average like an anchor. Moss has talked to him about this. His stubborn nature must be a faunus thing. That''s coming from experience. When I first met him I thought he resembled a puma. Aka thought his fangs made him look like a walrus. Noir assured us that he's a sabre tooth tiger faunus. Which make sense. Since he has a cat like face. Something else of note is his pale skin in sharp contrast to his black hair. I heard a rumor that he's with the White Fang. He doesn't stay with us long enough for me have an opinion. For all of Aka's contempt at least he comes to team meetings.

Then there's me, Abzu. At the time I was cynical and always angry. I had a resting face to match that anger. Perhaps the most striking thing about my appearance was my blue, spiked hair. I felt that I could be doing so much better if my team didn't suck. My skills were superb. My grades were great. I believed in this instance shifting blame to them was justified. I could get along with Moss because he was trying to be a team player. Nobody else was though.

I finish my lunch and listen to what team HLTH is saying to Aka. "You're team is full of losers. No wonder you cling to your older brother."

"You're stupid for picking the same relic at as the rest of your loser team during your first test."

"Why don't you just drop out. You're never gonna be a good enough huntsman."

The usual stuff I guess. Like clockwork, Aka responds. "You're right. They are losers." Ignoring the fact that he's one of the "losers" they are picking on.

I wished they were wrong. I wished our team was solid. Sad thing is, we weren't a solid team. Moss had good enough grades. Too bad as a sniper missed half his shots. Aka refuses to work with his team. I couldn't depend on Noir to come to a team meeting. How am I supposed to trust him with my life? I felt like I was the only competent team member.

HLTH was a quality team. They were in their second year. They didn't win awards or do anything particularly suburb. However, they got along and worked as a team. Which is more than can be said about us.

I look out the window and see Noir. He looks like he's getting into it with another faunus. The other faunus appeared to be a bunny. I thought about intervening. However, doing so would require me caring about that disgrace. So I look back to Aka. Now his brother Haiiro is pushing Aka "Be a man." he says. Pushing Aka again "Fight back squirt".

Finally I take pity on Aka. I know Aka doesn't like us. But someone has to be on his side. I know the feeling of nobody being there to help me. Unlike Noir, Aka doesn't have the spine to stand up for himself. "This is pathetic." I tell Moss "I'm gonna help Aka. Do you want to join me?"

"No. If Aka wants to hang out with his brother that's his business." Moss tells me nervously. For all his talk about wanting to help his team, he doesn't do it when it actually matters.

"Act like a man you wimp." Haiiro taunts. Aka has his fists balled up. Looking angry and red in the face. I can tell he wants to hit Haiiro. I know he can't win that fight. I'm sure he knew it too.

"I'm going over there and stopping this." I tell Moss.

"I really don't think that's a good idea. You might get in trouble. It's family business."

This is why Moss wasn't a good leader. He was inactive. If given the chance, he would try to talk to a creature of Grimm to make peace. Instead of acting like a huntsman and taking action. Much like Aka, Moss didn't have a spine. So in this situation, it was up to the only teammate that cared about the team to do something.

"I'm not abandoning my teammate. Plus look at him. It's pathetic."

Then I get up and stormed over to help him. Not knowing what would happen next, I shout "Hey dirtbags, can you keep it down? I'm trying to eat."

Team HLTH turns to me. Haiiro stands up and walks right up to my face. I can smell his awful breath "or what Abzu?" he says trying to intimidate me. The rest of his team onlooking.

He was bigger, more experienced, and probably a better fighter. But I've never been one to be intimidated. Especially from someone who could barely think of more insults than loser.

We lock eyes for at least 30 seconds. I don't know what to do next. The worst thing I could have done in this situation was back away. It would show weakness. Maybe the worst thing I could have done was escalate the situation. I knew I couldn't stare him down until he moved. He's not smart enough to be scared. In retrospect, this action caused a massive butterfly effect that benefited our team. So it's fair to think it was the right choice.

I took a cheap shot to his gut. I could feel the whole lunchroom turn to face me. At that moment I instantly regret my decision and jumped back. Team HLTH stood up. Looking to finish the fight. I see Moss come over. He probably thinks this situation is salvageable. "Come on guys" he says "We don't have to do this. We can work this out. Just calm down"

"You want some too, tough guy?" Haiiro asks. Evidently not understanding that Moss didn't want to fight.

Then we all hear a familiar voice. The voice of Dr. Oobleck "Gentlemen, report to detention immediately. All of you. Now." He says in his usual hyper voice.

"This isn't over." Haiiro assures us. I glare at him as we head to detention.

"Actually, I would like to speak to you three specifically. You aren't going to the detention hall. You are coming with me." Oobleck says pointing rapidly between Moss, Aka, and I.

"I think it's time team MANA learned to act like a team" He said smiling.

At the time I had no idea what that meant. Little did I know, this was going to be the begining of something beautiful for team MANA.

Chapter 2

Moss, Aka, and I were sitting in the front row of Doctor Ooblecks classroom for half an hour. Aka and I exchanged sour looks but didn't say a word. Moss just sat his his face down on the desk. I guess he just gave up. This was the first time he had been to detention. Maybe this was the event where he realized that he couldn't command his group. That rude awakening must have hit him like a sledgehammer to the gut.

Suddenly we heard the doors opening behind us. We all turned around to see who it was. It was Professor Ozpin with Noir. "I didn't do anything." Noir protested. "Why am I being punished?"

"Well that's just it. Your team was in a dispute and you did nothing to help." Ozpin answered calmly. At this moment we were all confused.

"I don't even know what you're talking about." Noir replied.

"Exactly, you don't participate with your team. Now why don't you have a seat next to them?"

Noir sat down looking annoyed. At that moment I couldn't help but giggle a little. Ozpin told him what I've been thinking for awhile. "As for you." Ozpin said, looking directly at me "Starting unsanctioned fights in the mess hall. Quite the temper you have."

He moved on to Aka "I'm sure you love your brother very much, but you can't stay with him forever. You need to work with your team."

Aka looked ashamed. I thought it was an appropriate reaction to being called out on your idiocy. Perhaps I should have felt ashamed too. After all, I do have a temper. Ashamed was the last thing I felt. I felt like everyone was finally getting called out on their problems. Then Ozpin talked to Moss. "You really should have taken more control over the situation. You're a leader after all."

Moss looked up. It turns out he'd been crying this whole time. I'd never seen this side of him before. "I know." He said sobbing "I just don't know how. I don't know what I'm doing. I. DON'T. KNOW. It's so hard."

Then Noir decided to be the biggest degenerate I'd ever seen him be. "Maybe if you weren't a crybaby people would listen to you."

What did he even know about Moss? I got so mad. The nerve of him. To make fun of someone that actually wants to help. "This is the first time he's ever cried. You'd know that if you actually spent time with your team. What's wrong with you anyway, you brat?"

"Who are you calling a brat, hot head?"

"I'm calling the animal that refuses to be a team player a brat."

That set him off. He got out of his seat and crouched on the desk. Right as he was about to pounce on me Ozpin said "Stop this. Both of you. You all have the potential to be excellent huntsman. However, until you learn to work together, you will never be more than the children you are now. I brought you here for a special team building exercise. Do you want to know more? Or do you want detention?"

Noir exhales violently. "Fine, what is it?" He asks aggressively.

"It's a fairly standard team building exercise" Ozpin Explains "All you have to do is exactly what you did for your first assignment. Retrieve a relic from the north of the Emerald Forest."

"How is that going to help?" Moss asked. apparently done crying.

"Ever since this team's inception it has been… unsatisfactory for the most part" Professor Ozpin explained "Perhaps if this team is reborn it will finally realize its true potential."

Noir, ever the downer interjected "This is a waste of time. Nothing is going to make me get along with twerps like Abzu."

"And what makes you so special anyway?" I ask "You bring down our team average in every category. How am I the twerp?"

"Guys, please hear him out." Moss stated meekly

"No, Noir is right for once. This is a mistake." I declare

"Are you all done questioning my assignment now?" Professor Ozpin asks. His voice raised slightly. "Now then, get ready to meet me at the Emerald Cliffs in an hour. All of you will show up, or all of you will fail. Is that understood?"

As we stand up to leave I grab Noir's arm and tell him "You want to prove to me you're not some degenerate? Show up for once."

"I don't have to prove a thing to you." He responds

"Since we have to do this or fail, yes you do."

"Get your hand off me."

I oblige and we head to our dorms in silence. We don't say a word. We just walked. Occasionally exchanging angry glares at each other. I was making sure Noir didn't flake. Even Moss joined in feeling bad for once. In contrast to the mood of the team it was a pleasant day in Vale. The sun was shining and the air smelled wonderful. If only sunshine was the mood.

We were in the courtyard when Aka stops and says "You know what. I'm sick of don't we act like a team? My brother and team HLTH act like a team. Why can't you guys?"

I tell him "Because our teammates would rather spend time with their brother than be part of a team."

"They act like a team. I want to feel like I'm part of something better than two angry people and a coward." He states.

"Is that how you thank someone who stood up for you?"

"You hit my brother you jerk."

"I hit someone that was tormenting my teammate."

At that point Moss takes a deep breath. We all turn to him. He then procedes to hold it for five whole seconds. Afterwords he exhales. "Listen, I know we don't get along that well. But can we cooperate on one thing right now? Silence. We can complain when the assignment starts. What do you say?" Moss stated in his usual cheerful tone.

I guess he got over his rude awakening quickly. Or maybe he was trying to hide his sadness. My theory was that he was always sad and his enthusiasm was just a way to hide the sadness. Whatever the case was, we all agreed. I could use some quiet after getting picked on for trying to help.

Chapter 3

So we got to our dorm, undressed from our school uniform, and geared up without saying a single word. It's been established that the team thought this was a waste of time. Of course Moss was still optimistic. Truth be told, as much as I hated to admit it, we could've used some optimism right then. I kept an annoyingly close watch on Noir. I wasn't going to fail because he decided to flake again.

I take a look at Moss. He wore a green ghillie jacket with pockets full of extra clips and dark blue jeans. His shoes were combat boots. His sniper was kept in a black rifle holster he wore on his back. He wrapped his hands with white boxing tape. I've never seen him fist fight before. Although he claims to be quite proficient. Maybe I'll get to see that during the mission.

Aka wore a red long sleeve shirt with a scarf and khaki shorts. His shoes were some high end sneakers. There was a bandoleer going from his right shoulder to his left waist for kunai. throwing knives. His weapon was a ninja chain scythe. I think Aka was from outside of the 4 kingdoms. I never bothered to ask.

Then I go back to staring at Noir. He had a vest made of some kind of black fluffy animal and black cargo pants. His shoes were gladiator sandals. His weapon was a large, 2 handed, double edged battleaxe. He had scars on his arms. I wonder how he got them. Maybe he wore the vest to show people he had the scars. I'll admit, it does make him look tough.

Then there's me. My shoes were black high top sneakers. I wore a blue hoodie with the hood down and a combat skirt. You'd think the skirt would turn eyes. People are generally accepting of free expression since the Great War. So nobody cares. I wear a purple bandana. I felt naked without it. It was a sentimental gift from a girl I once knew. More on her at a later date. I wore blue lipstick whenever I went on a mission. More on that later too. My weapon was a katana and a semi automatic pistol. Which I treat like one weapon.

After we left the dorms we got knocked unconscious at some point. I think it was right as we left the front door. They probably hit us in the back of the head. This is my theory because the next thing I know I'm waking up in a bullhead airship with a headache.

The first thing I see when I wake up is an Atlas soldier in front of me. To my left is a view of an endless expanse of green, grassy hills. I ask the soldier where we are, only to be met with silence. I ask where I'm being taken and again, I'm met with the same silence. Then I loose it and yell "Hey, soldier man, Are you deaf? Tell me where we're going."

"He's not going to answer. I already tried." Says a voice to my right. It's my team. Noir was the one speaking. "I'm assuming he can hear you. But the soldiers of the Atlas military follow stupid orders like dumb puppets."

I turn to the soldier. He's still looking forward with no emotion. I wonder how anyone can stand to take abuse like that and not react. Then Moss says "Come on Noir. He's just doing his job."

"Yeah" I interject smugly "Something you know very little about."

"You want to fight Abzu? I'll knock you out of this airship right now." Noir tells me. Obviously trying to save face.

The soldier turns the safety of his gun off. Keeping the same blank stare he's had the whole trip. We decide to knock it off. "Still" Aka says shyly. "It would be nice to know what's going on.".

I decide to look outside again. I see an evergreen forest inside a valley of grassy hills. It was surrounded on all sides by the hills. It looked like maybe a 2 hour walk from end to end. I never was good at estimating though. Suddenly the bullhead takes a sharp turn to the left. Heading right over the forest valley. The soldier then stands up and says "Alright gentlemen, your objective is to head to the center of the forest. Same as last time. Except we have a little surprise at the end."

"What's the surprise?" Asks Aka. He never was too bright.

Then, without saying a word the soldier throws me out. I had to think of a good landing strategy fast. Luckily I was falling parallel to a nearby tree. I got my katana out, hold it with both hands and took a deep breath. "This is gonna hurt a little" I tell myself. Then I stab the tree with a downward thrust. A jarring pain goes through my arms as I slide down farther and farther. The sliding gets slower the farther I go down until I finally stop. I look down and see that I'm only about 5 feet from the ground. I dislodge my sword and fall the rest of the way.

At this point my whole body hurts. There's bark all over my clothes. I'm out of breath. I have no idea where I'm going. Did I mention that my arms hurt? I'm annoyed that this is whole exercise was ultimately my fault. Because I punched Haiiro. No. It wasn't entirely my fault. My team sucks so we're in the middle of nowhere doing an assignment we already did.

I guess there's no use in being salty right now. Now is the time to take control of the situation. I spend the next 10 minutes getting the bark off my clothes. There was nothing I could do about my arms except man up and fight through the pain. Next thing to do was figure out where to go.

I look around and see nothing but forest in all directions. Forest as far as the eye could see. I try to think about when I was falling. Which way was towards the center? I didn't know which way was north, south, east, or west. After all, I didn't know bushcraft as well as a huntsman should. I arbitrarily decided on a direction and started walking. Here we go again.

Chapter 4

Did I ever mention the lack of teamwork we have? Of course I did. That's what this story is about. Did I mention that we didn't meet each other until after our first assignment. We all picked up the same chess piece, a black bishop, at different times. So we didn't learn anything about teamwork. Maybe this time it will be different. Then after that The White Fang and Schnee Dust Company will stop fighting.

I kept walking in whatever direction I was walking. I had no idea where The center of this forest was. Then I realized that the ground was uneven. It was slight, but it was definitely there. I looked towards the direction that was downhill. Maybe that was where I was supposed to go. That theory made enough sense for me to follow through. So I started walking downhill.

I looked around. There were just more trees. Then I noticed that they all extended to the same height. The trees were taller the farther they were down the hill. Giving the illusion from the air that they were all the same height. What a strange phenomenon. I had a feeling that there was something special about this place. There was some sort of aura. I felt like farther downhill I went the farther I went into my own soul. Although I have been known to overthink. When that happens I get anxiety.

While walking I suddenly see someone. I had hoped it was Moss. With my luck it would be Noir. Instead it was Aka. I thought about yelling to attract his attention. However, I had a feeling that Creatures of Grimm might be in the area. So instead I decided to get a little closer before talking to him. Before I could get within earshot a Grimm attacked him. It was a boarbatusk.

Aka saw it too. So he grabbed his weapon. With his right hand he was grabbing the chain closer to the weight end. With his left hand he grabbed the scythe. He proceeded to widen his stance. The boarbatusk lowered its head. Then it stroked the ground with its front left paw. Aka had a "come and get me" grin on his face. I'd always thought of him as a shy younger brother type of person. This was the first time I saw any confidence in him. It was uncanny to say the least.

The boarbutusk charged. I watched Aka just stand there and wait until it got close enough. Right as it was about to hit him Aka dive rolled to the right. Then I watched him form a crouching stance. He then threw the scythe into the beast's left side. Then he pulled hard, ripping it open. After that it disintegrated, as Grimm do when killed.

I watched Aka panting after the fight "Abzu, you can come out now." He panted.

I decided to come up to him "Wow Aka. I never knew you could kick butt like that." I said surprised.

"Of course I can. How else do you think I got into this school?"

That was a fair point. Suddenly another boarbutusk appeared behind me. I turn around and blow it a kiss. After that it exploded. The lipstick that made my lips blue wore off after that. Returning my lips to their normal color. Then a shocked Aka asked "Umm. What the heck was that?"

"I call it the kiss of death. Lipstick laced with dust helps me do it. I can only do it once. Then it wears off."

"I've never heard of that before. Where does that technique come from?"

"I learned it from a girl outside of the 4 kingdoms. I wear the bandana to remind me of her."

"Who is she?"

"I'll tell you later. Right now is the time to find our teammates. So let's go"

I try to move on. Aka was giving me a funny look the whole time we were walking. "Have you always been such a weirdo?" he asked

"No, the girl taught me to be expressive." I tell him

"Who is she?"

"Someone I knew. Do you not like hanging out with the group because I'm weird?". By this point I'm getting annoyed

"I never said that" He says defensively

"You don't say much of ANYTHING. Why do you hang out with your brother? He treats you like a punching bag."

He sighed "Did you know that my mom and dad were both team leaders at Beacon? My brother is a team leader. My sister who graduated was a team leader. I'm the only one in my family that wasn't made team leader. I hang out with him because I'm embarrassed of being in a team I don't lead."

"Let it all out. Because I know you aren't done." I was referring to his feelings about Moss.

"I was always taught to tackle my problems head on. That's what being a leader is about. Ours hangs back while his team does the real fighting"

Then, out of nowhere, another boarbatusk starts charging at us. We both take a fighting stance against it. Then it just falls over to its right. After that we hear a bang. It was Moss. It had to be him. We look to our right and 200 feet away, there he is. Smiling like he always does. Then Aka looks embarrassed. "We had it under control." He says.

Moss just smiles and says "You're welcome anyway. Those were some mean words you shouted."

"Well it's true."

At that point Moss sighed "Let's just find Noir. ok? Abzu, you're on point. Aka stay with me"

Then I said "Say what you want Aka. At least Moss tries to be a team player. And yes sir".

So begins our search for our perpetually missing teammate. We're starting to get our problems out in the open. Maybe we actually can get better as a team.

Chapter 5

For 5 minutes we keep walking down the slight hill. I wondered if we would be walking like this forever. Maybe this is all in my head. Maybe I'm still unconscious. Suddenly we hear a loud savage yell. It was definitely Noir. He was a little farther down to hill. No time to get contemplative about my situation. My teammate needs me.

We run until we get to a cliff. It's only about 15 feet down. At the bottom was Noir. Fighting 2 boarbatusks. His back was to the wall. Despite that he didn't look the slightest bit scared. He had his battle axe in hand, with a left handed stance. There was no question he would win. He's tough.

I watched him charge right at one of them. He drove his axe right into its head in a downward thrust. Then he turned to the right and looked at the other one. It charged right at him. Then, instead of grabbing his axe, he stood up and made a wide stance with both arms out in its direction. As the boarbatusk approached him he grabbed it by the tusks and dug his heels in. I watched as he got pushed back. Then in one motion he took out a hatchet from his left cargo pocket and hacked the side of its face.

I wondered if boarbatusks were the only grimm in this forest. No ursae, beowolves, creeps, or anything other than boarbatusks. Are they making us fight low level grimm because they think we're poor huntsmen? We got into Beacon. We're good fighters. Our problem was each other.

Looking back at Noir I found him hacking the dead boarbatusk. After it evaporated he started hitting the ground where the grimm was. He started shouting "Stupid tusks. Stupid, stupid, stupid, STUPID!". Then he got on his knees and started panting. I'd never seen him like this.

I turn to Moss and Aka. "I'm going down there" I tell them.

Before they have time to object I hop down. "Hey, Noir". I say trying to sound as comforting as I can.

"What do you want Abzu? Are you here to tell me I'm a degenerate again? Do you want to say I'm a dirty animal? That I bring the whole team down?" He says. I can tell he's trying really hard not to cry.

"Sorry. Just… sorry. Do you want to tell me what's wrong? I mean… about… your..." I didn't know what to say next. What's wrong with your life?

Then he lets it all out "My mom says she believes in me. She says if I work hard I can do anything. But I can't stop thinking that all I am is a filthy faunus." He takes a second to catch his breath before continuing. "No matter what I do I still have these tusks."

"Shut up." I tell him. "That's stupid. Maybe, instead of feeling sorry for yourself, you can come to class. If you want to become something then try putting in effort. I know you're tough. Maybe if you came to class you might actually be smart too. Try to fight stigma. Don't conform to it. I never hated you for being faunus. I hated you for not being a team player. Do you want to change that? Come to class on a regular basis."

"Then why did you call me an animal back when Ozpin told us about the assignment? If you don't hate faunus then why would you call me that?"

I didn't know what to say just then. "It was a spur of the moment thing. I don't hate faunus. My bandana is to remind me of a faunus girl."

"What's her name?"

"Fuchsia"

"Fuchsia? Really?"

"Do you know her?"

"Is it Fuchsia Amethyst? The cat eared girl? Pixie cut?"  
"Yes, yes, and yes How do you know her?"

"That explains the combat skirt. I know her because she's my cousin."  
At that moment my eyes lit up. I can't believe it. "How is she? I haven't seen her in years."

His anger seemed to have stopped. This was the first time I'd ever seen him smile. "I don't know I haven't seen her in months. She mentioned someone. The first human she trained. She said she loved him. Was that actually you?"

"I was the first human she trained. I don't know about loving her. If it wasn't love then it was the closest I'd ever been. Can you get me her address?"

"Only if you promise not to call faunus animals."

"It was a heat of the moment thing. I swear"  
"PROMISE ME."  
"Only if YOU promise to get our team average up."

I watched him ponder this for a moment. Then he laughed, extended his hand for a handshake and said "deal"

We shook hands. It was nice to not be hating Noir for once. I found it funny that Fuchsia helped me make peace with myself and now with my team. Without even being there. She really was a wonderful woman. As well as the rest of the women in the Amethyst clan. But now my thoughts are getting sidetracked.

I look behind me and see Moss and Aka have been watching our whole conversation "Alright, so are we all friends now?" Moss asks.

"Yeah, I guess we are. Are you and Aka friends now?" I inquire.

"Good enough I guess." Aka tells me with more enthusiasm than I knew he was capable of. "I guess I can't change that I'm not a leader. That doesn't mean I can't kick more butt than team HLTH."

Noir turns to Aka and says "Team HLTH? I've been to detention a few times. Every time their whole team was there. When they aren't making fun of you all they do is bicker. Like us. Or rather like we used to. Today is a new day for team MANA."

"Isn't it my job to say things like that" Moss asked.

We all laughed. Then Moss says "Look, I think that's the center of the forest. Let's go."

Chapter 6

We found the center of the forest. I figure a marble statue of a woman was a good enough landmark for the forest center. That and the fact that there aren't trees within 150 feet of it. We get closer. "It's the summer maiden!" Moss exclaimed.

"So it is." Aka confirms "Maybe her presence is in this forest. Maybe she's warming our hearts."

Since he needs to be a downer, Noir had to say "You really believe in fairy tales Aka? Grow up."

Then Moss takes control "Shhh. Listen."

So we do listen. I will never forget what we heard. It was the cry of a goliath. We turn to face it. Only to find that on the hills in all directions were kept gathering. The ones that arrived were just standing there in anticipation. I knew what was going to happen. We all did.

There were hundreds of them. I thought I knew fear before. I'd been scared for my life on my first hunt. This was different fear. This was a hopeless fear. I was paralyzed. My breathing patterns were becoming deep, slow, and loud. I had to control myself. I was a huntsman after all. We don't fear anything.

For some reason my thoughts were a realization I had then and there. We were all left handed. I'm about to make my last stand and my thoughts are about a quirk my team and I shared. My team. We were just starting to get along. Now we have to die together.

"Abzu, wake up." Noir shouts.

I suddenly regain my composure. "What are we going to do?" I ask

Noir then tells me "We're going to die. That's what we're going to do."

Then Aka decides to get courageous "If we're going to die we're going to die fighting."  
Then Moss says in a commanding voice I've never heard before. "We're not dying here. Backs to the statue. All of you. In each direction. Now"

We comply. To my right is Aka. To my left is Noir. Behind me is Moss. We all take a fighting stance.

"They have us surrounded. Moss, what are we gonna do?" I ask.

His response was the best thing he could say at that point in time. "We're gonna fight. We're gonna kill them all. They aren't monsters. They're prey. Something we slaughter because that's what huntsman do."

We all shout in agreement. For a moment I actually think we might make it out of this. "By the way, Aka." He says

"Yes?" Aka responds.

"You think snipers run and hide? Very well, I'm not gonna run or hide." Moss then transforms his sniper into a machete "I'm staying right here. I'm gonna kill these things while they look me dead in the eye."

Noir then laughs "They have us surrounded. Those poor, foolish creatures."

The boarbatusks then make their descent. It takes a full five seconds before I hear their footsteps. They have no idea they're all about to die I tell myself. Although I'm not sure I believe that. I decide to brace myself. Truly unsure of what the future holds.

Chapter 7

We wait in anticipation for a full 2 minutes. I keep telling myself that. We stay silent. I have my katana in my left hand and my semi automatic pistol in my right. I spot the first one. It was was by itself about a hundred feet away. It was running straight for me. I decided right now was a time to test my semblance. So I levitate a small rock and shove it right between its 4 eyes.

I look at my teammates. They all have a single boarbatusk charging at them. Noir kills his with a single downward swing of his axe. Aka swings the weight side of his weapon at his attacker. Moss was behind me, so I don't know what he did. I imagine he did something similar to Noir.

After that it's dead silence. The anticipation was unbearable. Was this psychological warfare? Are they that smart? Do these things have a hive mind? I think about the goliath I heard earlier. I didn't see it though. The thought of fighting that was at the front of my mind

Then Moss says "My semblance is camouflage. I won't be using it. I do want to know what everyone else can do."

"Rocks… I can move rocks. Small ones at least I don't know what it's called though" I tell him

"Focus… Mine is focus. It's like time slowing in my mind." Aka says

"All I know is that I'm strong when I'm ticked off. I can't control it sometimes." Noir tells us.

"That's good." Moss says. "After this is over we need to make team attacks."

I see what he's doing. He's trying to calm us down. He's also insisting that we'll make it out alive. I don't know how he can remain so optimistic right now. "If we make it out of this-" I start.

"WHEN we make it out of this." Moss corrected.

"When we make it out of this, I want Noir and mine's team attack to be bruises. Black and blue, get it?" I tell him.

"I like it." Noir assures me.

Suddenly we hear loud rumbling of hooves approaching. Next thing I know there are dozens of boarbatucks charging in my direction alone. I try to shoot some of them. I hit one and it goes down and dissolves. Then I hit another. And another. I was hitting them but they just kept coming. One of them lunges at me. I side step to the left and slice it as it passes. At this point they're too close. I decide to put my gun away and grab my sword with both hands.

I look to my right and see Aka. He takes the scythe end of the chain, swings it, and lodges it into one of the beasts. He then proceeds to spin it around. Whacking several other ones with it. I feel like I need to keep up. Then I realized I was getting distracted. I had the same problem he had. It was time to focus.

I realized I was surrounded by these things. Something like 12 circled me while the rest ran past and attacked the others. I ran straight forward and diagonally sliced the one right in front of me. Then I kicked his friend on the right. I proceeded to step on its neck and stab it's belly. One of them lunges from behind. I quickly turn around and slice it horizontally.

Next thing I know there are 2 charging me simultaneously. I manage to dodge the one on the right and slash the one on the left. I turn around and see the other one. Before it had time to turn around I shot it in the back. At this point I'm feeling pretty good.

That feeling was short lived when I realize that somewhere along the lines I got a massive gash on my leg. It was at this point I got a rude awakening. We were fighting separately. I'm not some kick butt super huntsman. I'm a first year student in a dysfunctional team. I couldn't win this fight. I was going to die.

I look and see Noir chopping through these things like butter. Then he starts glowing black. He drops his axe takes a bite out of one of them. It dissolves. Then all the creatures started to charge after him. I knew this wasn't a good thing. Regardless, I take advantage of this and start shooting. I must have hit 7 of these things. None of them seem to notice I was killing their friends and just kept charging. This was bad.

"Everyone, on Noir" Moss shouts.

"On it" Aka and I tell him.

I start hacking my way towards him. Ignoring the immense pain in my leg. "NOIR" I shout.

He stops attacking. Then he looks very confused and disoriented. The creatures seemed to back off too. At this point I'm sure that whatever power Noir has is something dark. In the meantime. He needed our help. We all fight our way to Noir and get back to back with him while the boarbatusks form a circle around us. In all directions they were as far as the eye could see. And they just waited.

"Abzu" Noir says "Form a rock wall or something"

"I can't." I told him "I can float rocks. I can't terraform the ground beneath me. I haven't mastered my semblance yet."

Moss chimed in saying "We can do this. Stay together and we will make it out alive."  
He was getting annoying at this point. "How can you stay so optimistic at a time like this?" I ask violently.

"Because hope is all we have left. We need hope right now" He tells me.

"What we NEED right now, is a miracle" Aka shouts "Who knows" he chuckles "Maybe the summer maiden will come to help."

Then I hear it again. The sound of a goliath roar. It wasn't long before I saw it walking through the forest towards us. That was when I felt true despair. Aka was right. At this point, we needed a miracle if we were going to get out alive.

Suddenly there was a green glowing behind us. The grimm seemed taken aback by this new light. We all turn to face this new light. It was the statue. I guess the spirit of the summer maiden heard we needed help. Its light shone right at me. My leg was healed. I felt powerful. I figured I should make good use of this power.

I turn to the goliath and blow him a kiss. Normally my kiss of death only works on low level enemies. I also need the help of dust. With this power I felt like I could take on even something as large as a goliath with that attack. I was right. The goliath exploded. Taking out several boarbatusks with it. The rest run away. Then I stop glowing.

"What in the heck was that?" Noir asks confused.

"It was a technique Fuchsia taught me. The kiss of death. She called it." I told him.

Then Aka said, sounding super surprised "Whatever it was it worked"

Then we heard the sound of a bullhead overhead. We look up and watch it as it lands. We see professor Ozpin inside. He steps out and approaches us. "Well boys" he says "Do you think you learned how to work together?"

Then Moss stood at attention and answered in a professional voice. "Yes sir. We accomplished our goal. The creatures of grimm have been dealt with."

"And what of your team? Are you a functioning team now?" Ozpin inquired.

"We should ask them. Team, do we all get along now?" Moss asked commandingly.

"We can make it work" Aka said

"More or less" I tell him

Noir pauses for a second. Then he smiles and says "Sure, why not?"

Ozpin smiles and says "excellent. Let's get you all back to school, shall we?"

Epilogue

It was the lunch the day after we got back. We were all at the same table and actually getting along. I never thought this day would come. I was thinking that we were going to hate each other forever. Here we are though. Laughing and enjoying each other.

It was weird not hating Noir. He kept his word. He's showing up to class. He's getting his grades up. I still had some questions for him. So I asked "Hey Noir, what was that energy that caused the grimm to focus on attacking you?"  
He turns and says "I don't know. It scares me too. I assure you. I'll look into it. And before you ask, I gave Fuchsia a call. She'll be here in a week."

"Thanks dude" I tell him.

"Why do you think the summer maiden chose you?"

"Maybe she knew my kiss of death would work best? I don't know."

That was good news. All that was left was dealing with Haiiro. It was actually not on my mind. At least not until he showed up looking for trouble.

"Hey Abzu." Haiiro said, standing right behind me "We have some unfinished business."

I decide to take the high road and tell him "Sorry for hitting you."

"Tell Aka sorry for hitting his brother."

Then Aka tells him "Don't be sorry. He was being a jerk." Then Aka stands up and gets in Haiiro's face "You don't get to boss me around anymore. Now get lost."

Then Haiiro says "whatever" and leaves.

That's the story of how team MANA finally became a working team.


End file.
